


memories lost

by orphan_account



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Dragonslayer siblings, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:23:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5734654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>how could he forget?</p>
            </blockquote>





	memories lost

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short._

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short._

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short._

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short._

He opened his eyes slowly, still murmuring his little mantra as he peered around the carriage. Wendy was slumped over Natsu’s lap, snoring lightly as they rattled down the main road. Both Sting and Rogue had also fallen asleep as they travelled, their heads lolling to the side slightly so they slept against each other.

“Ah, you’re up.”

His gaze flickered over to Natsu. He had one hand on Wendy’s head, absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair while she slept.

“Thought I was gonna die of boredom.”

Gajeel chuckled quietly, “how long left?”

“‘Bout twenty minutes.”

“That soon, huh?”

A shy grin tugged at Natsu’s lips, “you nervous?”

“Nah,” Gajeel lied, praying desperately that Natsu couldn’t hear the way his heart was beating just a few beats too fast, or notice the thin layer of sweat that covered his palms. Judging by the way Natsu quirked an eyebrow up at him, his prayers were wasted.

“Maybe a little,” he conceded stubbornly, scowling a little as he turned to face the window. The landscape billowing past them seemed familiar. He squinted a little into the distance as he tried to probe through his memories, wishing everything was a blurry mess. He knew he’d been here before. Knew he’d walked these streets and stared up at the sky and inhaled the air here, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember. Not properly anyway. Everything in his mind was a colorful blur, melding the last 400 years together with no real way to distinguish what happened when or where. Was it all going to be like this?

“You ever worry you’ve forgotten them?” he asked suddenly, pretending like he didn’t notice Sting and Rogue stirring in the corner, “that your “memories” of them are just as messed up ad everything else in here?” he tapped the side of his head gently, “that when you actually see them, you’ll walk straight past?”

Silence enveloped the carriage for a moment or two before Natsu adamantly shook his head. In typical Natsu style he leaned forwards slightly and pounded his fist against his chest, just above his heart, “you don’t forget your memories in _here_ ,” he punched his chest again and grinned, “you just _don’t_.”

“Could you be any more corny?” Sting laughed quietly from his corner in the carriage. Rogue was fully awake now as well, smiling lightly as he listened to Natsu’s mini speech.

“Nope,” Natsu said cheerily, seemingly undeterred by the light insult, “being corny is my thing.”

“That’s true,” Wendy murmured in agreement, yawning as she pushed herself up from Natsu’s lap, “are we there yet?”

“Almost,” Gajeel said, still staring out of the window trying to get a fix on their location in his memories. He wished Natsu’s words would have done more to calm his nerves but all he’d done was further his doubt.

What if he had forgotten? 400 years was a long time and he was ashamed to admit that his mental image of her had begun to blur during the last 100 or so years. He could no longer remember what she sounded like, what she smelt like, what she felt like in his arms. He just knew that she existed and that she was important to him. If he was honest with himself, it was that knowledge that had kept him going the last 400 years.

And that was just her - the rest of the guild were one giant blur in his memories.

The carriage slowed to a halt outside a building Gajeel vaguely remembered. Tall and grand, flags with the Fairy Tail mark hung from the windows, fluttering limply in the wind.

“We’re here,” Rogue said quietly, “are you sure they’ll all be there?”

Wendy nodded, her eyes shining with an emotion Gajeel couldn’t quite place, “I sent all the letters out.”

“How…” Gajeel cleared his throat, “how long has it been….for them?”

“Shouldn’t be longer than six months,” she bit her lip, “I tried to get it as exact possible but I couldn't….couldn’t remember the date.”

“Well,” Natsu said brightly, “guess we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer, huh?”

“Guess not,” Sting chuckled as he pushed open the carriage door, “you ready?”

They all took a deep breath before following Sting out of the carriage.

“It’s OK, you know?” Wendy murmured quietly as they made their way up the steps to the guild, “if you can’t remember.”

She looked up at Gajeel and offered him a small smile before taking his hand in her own and squeezing tightly, “I’m…worried I won’t be able to aswell.”

“You’ll remember just fine, kid,” he muttered, running his thumb along the length of her palm gently.

“Hey!” she laughed, ignoring the tears that were already pooling in her eyes, “who’re you calling ‘kid’? 400 years old, remember?”

“As if I could forget,” he snorted, freeing his hand from hers before rubbing her hair affectionately, “you ready?”

“Nope! You?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

She laughed again as they faced the doors, “well, it’s now or never.”

“Now or never,” Natsu repeated quietly, his hands hovering just above the door. He hesitated for a few seconds before swallowing and pressing his hands against the faded old wood and pushing.

They all held their breaths as the doors creaked open and slowly began to reveal the inhabitants of the guild to them.

Gajeel almost winced as the almost deafening din reached his ears once the doors were fully opened. Had they always been this noisy?

Slowly, the five dragonslayers inched forwards, holding their breaths as, one by one, their guildmates fell silent and turned to stare at them. They all had identical looks plastered across their faces and if he hadnt been so close to puking up his breakfast, Gajeel might’ve laughed at how dumb they all looked.

“You all look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Natsu laughed nervously once they reached the center of the guild.

“Natsu,” Wendy chided quietly beside him. They’d spent the last week going over what they were going to say when they arrived and everyone had shut down Natsu’s idea of mentioning ghosts.

“What…”

Natsu’s grin fell from his lips almost immediately as a blonde pushed her way through the crowd.

Gajeel’s brows furrowed as the blonde approached, her hands outstretched and shaking as a blue cat followed her closely. He knew he remembered her. Just like he was knew he remembered the black haired and white haired women who were approaching Sting and Rogue with identical looks of confusion plastered across each of their faces. But he couldn’t remember their names. In his memory they were like shooting stars, there for just a second before they disappeared without giving him the chance to commit them properly in his mind.

Was this how it was going to be for everyone? What about her?

Blue. Brown. Soft. Short.

He repeated his mantra in his head and she span around, peering around the guild, waiting for her to jump out at him. She _had_ to be there. She _had_ to. She _had_ to.

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short.  
_

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short.  
_

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short.  
_

_Blue. Brown. Soft. Short.  
_

_Blue. Bro-_

“Gajeel?”

He froze, wondering if he’d imagined the soft, lilting voice that had just hesitantly called his name.

“Gajeel?”

There it was again. Still hesitant, but more forceful this time. Slowly, he turned around, heart thudding almost painfully as he moved.

_Blue._

Her hair was longer than he remembered.

_Brown_.

Her eyes warmer than his memory gave them credit for.

_Soft_.

His breath hitched in his throat as she took several steps forwards before barreling into his arms, murmuring his name over and over again.

_Short_.

He’d forgotten just how easily she fit against him, like a perfect puzzle piece.

“ _Levy_ ,” he murmured, his voice cracking just a little as he felt her begin to tremble in his arms. Her name - the one he thought he’d long forgotten - fell from his tongue without any prompting, filling him with a warmth he hadn’t even been aware he’d been missing.

Natsu was right - as corny as he was, Natsu was right. There were just some things you couldn’t forget.

**Author's Note:**

> based on this [headcanon i have here](http://gajeelredfox.tumblr.com/post/134722712883/ok-ok-ok-so-bare-with-me-pls-guys-this-is-all)


End file.
